SLAM
My fist landed on the TerraRider's tires. I panted heavily, my surroundings were back to where they were. Yet, I couldn't fully access everything around me.
Even the color of the TerraRider's wheels were seem to be inverted. The pale snowy blue grounds turned into a dark warm orange.
Shin Hayato placed an arm on my shoulder,
"Aléssio, are you alright ?"
I stared at him, eyeing him up and down. I reached out to touch his hand.
CREEK
The usual Shin Hayato I saw changed in an absurd way. I widened my eyes, crawling back and hiding myself under my arms. My eyes twitched violently, moving left to right to glimpse just a bit of what had happened.
I parted my fingers a little, barely enough to see Shin Hayato. He marched to me, his blank metallic face rotating continuously. Even if he looks like Shin Hayato, the one I'm seeing now looks more of a humanoid robot.
The face proportions were off. Eyes were dropping, his body slumped forward. Head rotating downwards while the face looked guilty with anger.
I widened my eyes, trembling even more. Cold sweat break through my neck. I couldn't handle it anymore. Not when something terrifying and uncanny is getting closer.
I gritted my teeth, lunging myself to this robotic Shin Hayato. I punched his face bunch of times before dragging my hands to his neck.
A static voice erupted from the distance,
"Aléssio stop !"
Yet I didn't bat an eye. The Shin Hayato beneath me gurgled while his hands raiseed high, waving to block my view. I head-butted that being, hurting my own forehead in the process.
A pair of arms pulled me away and shoved me to the side. I shook my head violently and turned to that person.
Cassandra.
I looked around frantically, brows furrowing.
Sheng Yue fetched a bottle and gave it to Shin Hayato,
"Aléssio ! What is in your mind ?! That was Shin—"
WHUMP
The same blade as before landed quietly on the snow. I gasped and covered my mouth. Shin Hayato raised his hand, signalling us to stay still.
Cassandra gripped on her Vibro Dagger and analyzed the surroundings. I stared at Shin Hayato who is still struggling to calm down. Was this a curse from the ChronoLume ?
Did it purposely make people turn into humanoid robots ? If yes, what was it for ? Thinking of it made me more insane and further from the answers.
I narrowed my eyes, noticing a thin string attached to the rock. I moved my head slightly to indicate that we're trapped between strings.
Cassandra tilted her head upwards and groaned,
"We're trapped. The strings are probably everywhere."
Sheng Yue threw her hands up,
"This is outrageous—"
Shin Hayato pulled her hands from getting any higher,
"Sheng Yue, don't. We don't know where the blades come from so it's better for us to stay still."
Sheng Yue rolled her eyes and pouted,
"Yeah yeah, whatever ! If I found out the person who set this trap, I'm chasing them with a slipper and a belt !"
I held my laugh, coughing while I bit my lips to suppress it. At last, I couldn't hold it anymore and let it all out. Sheng Yue tried to scratch her itchy nose by moving it up and down.
Cassandra shook her head a little,
"Sheng Yue ? Seriously ? Also what's with that pose ?"
Sheng Yue smirked and let out her iconic grin,
"What ? Never seen a fashion model before ?"
She continued to wiggle her eyebrows while standing in an awkward pose. Instead of standing upright, she leaned sideways in an absurd angle. I had no idea how she could stay still like that.
Even weirder, she seemed comfortable while her toes fought to handle this. At this point, I was more convinced that gravity had given up on dealing with her. I'm probably not surprised if suddenly she pulled out a bazooka from thin air.
"Found them !"
A shouting came from the other side of the TerraRider. Two teenage boys walked up to us, pressing a button. After he pressed it, the strings around wrapped itself around the rock.
One of them whispered to the other,
"Are you sure these are from that program ? That girl is standing like that for God knows how long they've been standing still."
Sheng Yue stomped on Shin Hayato's stomach and took off her shoe,
"I can hear you ! You think I can't hear you from afar !"
The other guy glanced at his comrade,
"Yeah, I don't think they're one of them. But still, they're from Elysium Ark."
His comrade shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck,
"Maybe a documenter ? Wait, documenters always hide. Then what exactly are this people ? Clowns—"
Without any words, Sheng Yue threw her shoe at him. Landing perfectly flat on his face, the dirt of the shoe covered the red mark. The shoe slowly dropped to the ground.
Sheng Yue stomped on Shin Hayato's stomach and rambled on,
"你有病吗?! 我的站姿碍着你了吗?! 没品味就别乱说话! (Nǐ yǒu bìng ma ?! Wǒ de zhànzī àizhe nǐ le ma ?! Méi pǐnwèi jiù bié luàn shuōhuà !)"
Shin Hayato coughed violently, gasping for air,
"Sheng... Yue... I can't breathe..."
Sheng Yue blinked and smiled sheepishly,
"Oh... my bad."
Cassandra walked up towards the stunned boys and snatched Sheng Yue's shoe. While Sheng Yue is wearing her shoe, the two teenagers whispered again.
The one with the shoe mark observed the TerraRider and glanced back at us,
"I'm tired of seeing your friend's stupidness. Now, to ensure all of you can return safely..."
Both of them took out a Laser Pistol and aimed it at us, interrogating us at the same time,
"Tell us where you're from and state your purposes !"
BEEP
IRIS peeped out of the TerraRider, waving its arm to them. Both of them looked at each other. One of them shifted their pistol, aiming to IRIS.
I widened my eyes and raised my hand,
"IRIS ! Come here—"
BANG
IRIS dropped to the snow.
A tear dropped to my cheek. The time I had spent fixing IRIS had gone wasted again. What a horrible sight. It had been broken twice.
No.
Perhaps more than I have thought.
Cassandra broke the silence and slapped the back of my head,
"Hey, IRIS is alive you idiot. It dropped to the ground so it could dodge the bullet."
IRIS hovered on the air, covering its head and flew straight to me. I hugged it tightly and smiled, wiping the tear.
The two teenagers stared at us with no words to say.
The other boy without the shoe mark pinched the bridge of their nose,
"Actually. You know what ? Just loot whatever is in that car. I'm not dealing with anything like this. As much as I hate Elysium Ark people, I think these are people who escaped from mental asylum—"
WHACK
A shoe landed flat on his face, silencing him once and for all. They stared each other blankly. Both of them had a red bruise all because of Sheng Yue's shoe.
"What's taking both of you for so long ?!"
A woman appeared behind them, slapping the back of their heads.
She noticed us and scolded those two,
"Seriously ?! You guys can't identify which is from Saviors program and which is not ?!"
She dragged them by their ears and pointed at the logo of Saviors program written on the TerraRider,
"Are both of you blind ?!"
She took a deep breath and crossed her arms,
"Hurry up ! Put them to sleep ! Подростки нынче... (Podrostki nynche...)"
Sheng Yue glanced at them and blinked,
"Wait what—"
Both of the boys pressed the button, the strings wrapped around us. From the strings, it let out a heavy scent. Sheng Yue wiggled around, but eventually she snored.
My eyelids fluttered, trying to close itself. Cassandra continued to grit her teeth and struggle. Shin Hayato didn't struggle nor wiggle, accepting his fate.
I blinked rapidly, my mouth opened slightly. My eyes closed itself, drifting into a peaceful sleep.